Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks, M.D., neurologist and author of Musicophilia. He would’ve known. Sacks documented the power of music to arouse movement in paralyzed Parkinson’s patients, to calm the tics of Tourette syndrome, and to vault the neural breaches of autism. After his passing, his belief that music can heal the brain is still gaining favor — thanks, in part, to Gabrielle Giffords.
In January 2011, the Arizona congresswoman survived a gunshot wound to her left temple. Because language is controlled by the brain’s left hemisphere, Giffords was unable to speak. As part of her arduous recovery, she underwent music therapy, which trained her to engage the right side of her brain — pairing words with melody and rhythm — to bring back speech.
“She was able to sing a word before she could speak a word, and the damaged areas of her brain were circumvented through music,” says Concetta Tomaino, executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. “Now the neuroscience community is saying, ‘Yes, the brain changes’ and ‘Yes, auditory stimulation can help those changes happen.'”
Therapy That Plays Well
Music therapy is used to help victims of severe brain trauma, children on the autism spectrum, and seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. For children with ADHD, music therapy bolsters attention and focus, reduces hyperactivity, and strengthens social skills.
Free Download: Music for Healthy ADHD Brains
How does it work?
MUSIC PROVIDES STRUCTURE. Music is rhythm, rhythm is structure, and structure is soothing to an ADHD brain struggling to regulate itself to stay on a linear path. “Music exists in time, with a clear beginning, middle, and end,” says Kirsten Hutchison, a music therapist at Music Works Northwest, a nonprofit community music school near Seattle. “That structure helps a child with ADHD plan, anticipate, and react”.
MUSIC FIRES UP SYNAPSES. Research shows that pleasurable music increases dopamine levels in the brain. This neurotransmitter — responsible for regulating attention, working memory, and motivation — is in low supply in ADHD brains. “Music shares neural networks with other cognitive processes,” says Patti Catalano, a neurologic music therapist at Music Works Northwest. “Through brain imaging, we can see how music lights up the left and right lobes. The goal of music therapy is to build up those activated brain muscles over time to help overall function.”
Just as Giffords used music to retrain her right brain to help her to talk, children with ADHD can use music to train their brains for stronger focus and self-control in the classroom and at home.
MUSIC IS SOCIAL. “Think of an orchestra,” says Tomaino, a 30-year veteran in music therapy. “If one instrument is missing, you can’t play the piece. All ‘voices’ are necessary.” This is what Hutchison teaches in “Social Skills Through Music,” an eight-week course for children ages seven to 10. Students participate in ensemble playing, write collaborative songs, and practice for an end-of-session performance.
How Music Unlocked My Son’s ADHD Brain
“Students learn to listen, take turns, anticipate changes, and pick up on cues in ways they might not do outside of a music-therapy session,” says Hutchison.
What if board-certified music therapists are hard to come by in your city? Or the cost of music therapy is too high? (The eight-week “Social Skills” program costs $224.) Here are a few effective, everyday ways that parents can use to harness music to help their children.